The Strange Men from the North
by gh44444
Summary: A new faction has settled near Fisdnar! Are they friend or foe? The Kingdom of Noregr will have to find out the hard way as they fight for their survival. (Based off the Nova Aetas mod for Mount and Blade Warband.)


The cold rain falls gently over the town of Wercheg. Inside the fortified walls lies a dormant city. The night hurries the townsfolk inside their homes to rest for the workday tomorrow. However, for the lords that reside within the town, the night brings nothing but sleepless nights and late council meetings. Inside the lord's longhouse, one such meeting is taking place. 

The longhouse is a massive one-room living space with two floors. The first floor is the main room, while the 2nd is where the living quarters for the lord reside. The interior of the longhouse is made of the most beautiful northern logs. The floors are covered with a multitude of pelts stripped from the native wildlife of the north. However, one type of hide is more numerous than the others, the white and black spotted pelt of a snow leopard. In the middle of the longhouse lies a great hearth in the middle of the room surrounded by chairs. 

Within each of these chairs sit men. Each man bears the sigil of a raven on a field of blue tattooed onto the side of their cheeks. Each wears a variant of the Vaegir kuyak with plate boots and plated gauntlets. None of the men wear helmets except for one who wears a crown of gold atop his head.

A deathly silence wafts in the room. The only sound is the crackling of the hearth. One of the men shifts in his chair, causing the rest to look at him. 

"I am not one to question you, my king…." The shifted man starts. "But can we really trust these...these...foreigners?"

The crowned man leans forward. "Your concern is well warranted, Aethuswulf."

"So what do we do about them? You gave them Fisdnar, and now they are building a castle of their own. Do you not think they are taking advantage of your hospitality." Aethuswulf argues. 

"I have to agree with Aethuswulf." Another lord says. "We know nothing about these foreigners other than they come from another continent." The lord leans forward towards the king. "I say we attack them and force them out of Calradia."

"So quick to fight, Borgasson." The crowned man chuckles. "Do you forget that we are still at war with the Nordic Union? Another war will only weaken us."

The other lords murmur amongst themselves. Some nod in agreement with the king, while others shake their heads with disagreement. The murmur quickly becomes full out, arguing as the seconds pass. The crowned man lies back in his chair and places a hand on his chin and thinks. 

"My Lords!" A man shouts, standing up, a great scar running down from his forehead to his eye. "Settle down in the name of Odin!" 

The arguing stops as the scarred man shouts. The scarred man nods towards the crowned man who returns the nod.

The crowned man sits up in his chair. "We must come to a united decision on what to do with the foreigners. It is the only way we can move forward."

"I say we force them out of Calradia!" Borgasson shouts confidently.

"We can't fight them," Aethuswulf says. "We can't fight a war on two fronts. Who knows how much manpower they have amassed in what…" He looks to the crowned man.

"Three months." The crowned man says, putting a hand to his face and sighing. 

"Three months! Imagine the force they could have amassed in three months." One of the lords interrupts. "We barely have enough men between us to fight the Union." He says disparately.

Once again, the room bursts into argument. This time shouting overcomes reason as the hall becomes a battlefield of words. The crowned man leans back in his chair and observes the room as it bursts into chaos. At once, he stands, causing the other lords to hush. 

"Norgit. You've been awfully quiet. How do you think we should proceed?" The crowned man asks the scarred lord.

Norgit scratches his chin. "My king, you know me to be an honorable man. I say that the honorable thing to do would be to not only allow the foreigners but force them to aid us in the battle against the Union." Norgit gets out of his chair. "If they do not aid us, then we go to war with them once the Union has been dealt with." 

There is a murmur of agreement in the hall. The crowned man nods in agreement. "I like that idea." The crowned man says somewhat cheerfully. "Do we have a consensus?"

The lords nod their heads in agreement.

"Very good now-"

Before the crowned man can finish his sentence, a man bursts through the longhouse doors. An arrow sticks out his back as he limps his way to the hearth. He is dressed in a light garb and wears a nordic sword on his belt. 

"My apologies for interrupting the council, King Olaf." The wounded man says, breathing heavily. "I have an urgent message from Rivacheg." 

"Whats this message then?" the crowned man asks.

"Rivacheg….Rivacheg is under attack by the Nordic Union!" The messenger says, trying to catch his breath. 

The lords all stand up from their chairs in an instant. King Olaf makes his way to the messenger and puts a hand on his shoulder.

"How many?" Olaf asks quietly.

"A considerable force, my king. Estimates were about 1200 men strong. They began the siege yesterday and were building siege equipment when I left." 

"Odin's beard….." Olaf says, covering his mouth. "We must ride to Rivacheg's aid immediately!" 

"Rivacheg, you say!?" Aethuswulf says, trying to suppress his surprise. "My sister….." He collapses into his chair. 

"Your sister will be fine, Aethuswulf," Borgasson says, trying to cheer him up. "Aethelwulfa is a strong warrior. We will ride at first light." 

"Don't be stupid, Borgasson." Norgit interrupts. "Rivacheg is a two-day ride, and that's not counting an army in tow." 

Borgasson looks at Norgit with a face full of anger, but it quickly dissipates as reason returns to him. He sits back in his chair and thinks to himself. As he does this, another messenger bursts through the longhouse doors. 

"My King urgent news!" The new messenger shouts.

"Hopefully, about Rivacheg," Olaf says sarcastically. 

"Yes, my king. A force numbering 5000 has just departed from near Fisdnar."

The lords go silent as this message is heard throughout the longhouse. Aethuswulf is the first to make a sign of movement and gets up out of his chair.

"Are they friends or foes?" Aethuswulf says mouth agape.

"We are unsure at this moment. The only thing that is known is that they are heading towards Rivacheg bearing the banner of a strange animal on a field of green."

Olaf looks to the ceiling. "Odin, let them be friends. Let our hopes be true." He silently prays. 

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Inside, Rivacheg soldiers move to their positions throughout the city. Archers gather their arrows and infantry barricade the gates. Inside the main keep, a young girl dons her armor…. 

"Please, my lady, you must not fight!" A handmaiden says desperately. 

"What would you have me do then, Helga!?" The young girl growls angrily, tightening the bands of her armor. 

"Stay inside the keep. Let the men take care of the siege." Helga tries to reason. "They were trained to fight for you, my Lady."

"Helga, have you seen the force outside!" The young girl argues. "They number in the hundreds we only have about 300 men in this city. Not to mention that most of them are recruits." 

She picks up a nordic helm off a nearby table and puts it on. The helmet is obviously too big for her head, so she takes it off and throws it at the counter furiously. 

As she takes it off, her naturally red curly hair falls delicately into place. Her face is full of freckles, and her eyes are an ice blue hue. She is short, only coming in at a short 5'3. Her body is skinny, the only semblance of womanhood being her meager chest. Her skin is a pale white and bears freckles around her neck. 

"Please, Lady Aethelwulfa. I'm begging you!" Helga begs. 

Aethelwulfa picks up a nearby battle-ax and a huscarl shield. She places the massive shield on her back and sheathes the ax by her belt. She walks over to the now collapsed and crying Helga and kneels down in front of her. Aethelwulfa places a hand on Helga's shoulder.

"Don't worry, Helga. I will have victory, and you can nag me all you want after." Aethelwulfa says, somewhat cheerfully. 

Helga wipes away the tears in her eyes and looks at Aethelwulfa in the eyes. "You better come back alive, or I will nag you in the afterlife." 

Aethelwulfa smiles and gets off her knees. She heads to the great doors of the keep and opens them. She makes her way to the main gate, where the siege is focused and climbs the stairs leading to the walls. Archers stand at the ready, watching over the walls prepared for even the slightest movement from the Union soldiers. 

Aethelwulfa looks over the battlement and at the many campfires that light up the night. The bonfires are numerous and seem to go on for miles. Siege towers have been built just outside the walls, out of reach of the defenders, and lay dormant readied for the morning sun. 

"My lady, we are prepared for battle." A Noregr Huscarl says approaching Aethwulfa.

"Good. This will be a tough fight." She starts. "I don't want anyone doing anything suicidal. We can't afford to lose a single man due to idiocy."

"As you say, my lady." The Huscarl bows then leaves.

The cold rain stops as the sun peeks out of the east. As it peeks further up, the campfires are extinguished, and the sound of battle horns can be heard. The camp is quickly broken down, and battle formations are created. A group of Union soldiers rushes the siege tower and begins to push it to the cheering of their comrades. 

"So it begins….." Aethelwulfa says, taking a deep breath. 


End file.
